Impact of urbanization on tuberculosis and leprosy prevalence in medieval Denmark

Bibliographic Data

ID3778958
AuthorsKirsten Saige Kelmelis (Pennsylvania State University), Dorthe Dangvard Pedersen (0000-0002-4709-9170, University of Southern Denmark)
Year2019
Volume76
Issue2
Pages149-166
Publication date2019-06-24
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropologischer Anzeiger (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-5548 • E-ISSN: 2363-7099
PublisherS ch we iz er ba rt (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1127/anthranz/2019/0962
PMID30942817
OpenAlexW2927418497
LanguageEN
Citations received9

204). All skeletons included date to the middle part of the Danish medieval period (AD 1200-1400). Six skeletal leprosy indicators and six skeletal tuberculosis indicators were analyzed, and disease frequencies in the samples were estimated using a probabilistic approach based on lesion sensitivity and specificity. The effect of tuberculosis on survival in urban and rural samples was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. The frequency of leprosy at death varied between four and 19 percent among the four cemeteries with Ole Wormsgade having the highest frequency. The estimated frequency of tuberculosis at death varied between 39 and 69 percent. Here, Sejet cemetery had the highest frequency. There were significant differences in survival for those with and without tuberculosis-related lesions between sites, but there were no significant differences between urban and rural sites. The analyses presented in this paper suggest that disease prevalence in skeletal samples cannot be sufficiently explained by urbanization alone; rather, there are likely other biological and behavioral sources of heterogeneity that are contributing factors to past disease experience.

Biology · Danish · Geography · Leprosy · Pathology · Population · Rural area · Tuberculosis · Urbanization · Demography · Ecology · Forensic and Genetic Research · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Immunology · Leprosy Research and Treatment · Medicine

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